Getting your home ready to go on the market may seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. There are some very important things you can do to assure that your home shows to its best advantage so you can get top dollar for it.

Tips on getting your home market-ready

There are a lot of things in your home that you are used to being around which potential buyers will find distracting. There are also ways you can enhance the looks of your home without spending a lot of money. Here are a few tips that can help you get organized:

1. Bag the clutter

Knick knacks, things sitting out on countertops, and other clutter need to be removed. Box them up, bag them, and rent a storage facility to store them while you get your house ready to be shown and sold.

The rationale behind this is that a prospective buyer wants to be able to envision his or her things in your home, and that is not easy when all of your personal things are sitting around.

2. Clean everything

Wash your windows, clean your carpets, dust all furniture and clean your ceiling fans. Pay special attention to fingerprints on light switches and doors. Keep bathrooms spotless. Clean in the corners of your floor (this is an area even professional house cleaners often miss).

You want to make your house as inviting as you can make it, and a dirty home is guaranteed to send prospective buyers on to the next one on their list.

3. Let there be light!

Open curtains, blinds and shades during the daytime to let in as much natural light as you can. Good lighting is second on the list of things buyers want in a home, right after location.

Put higher wattage full spectrum bulbs in every light fixture. Clean or change your lampshades.

4. Spiff up your walls

You can clean some of the scuff marks from your walls with soap and water, but some areas will need painting. Choose a light very low VOC of no-VOC paint because you don’t want the odor of fresh paint in your house.

If your house has been painted in the last two or three years, you may not need to repaint it all. Using some of the left-over paint, you can put just a little bit of the paint on your brush. Using a feather stroke, brush it gently over the scuff marks. Be sure to use a very light touch so that the new paint blends in well with the old paint.

5. Beautify your kitchen

The kitchen sells many houses as it is the heart of any house. There are many low-cost things you can do to make your kitchen appear extremely inviting.

• Kitchen counters

Appliances and many other things end up on kitchen counters. Remove everything you can from your kitchen counters as it makes the room seem larger.

• Kitchen faucet

A nice kitchen faucet can be a big selling point. Either shine up the one you have or replace your kitchen faucet with one of the fancy new units. This gives an instant modern update to your kitchen. Be sure to hide funky-looking sponges and other dish cleaning implements.

• Kitchen cabinets

New hardware such as knobs and hinges can do wonders as a low-cost update for your kitchen cabinets. Or, if your budget allows you can order new cabinet doors for them. Be sure to straighten out all the dishes and other things inside the cabinets.

• Kitchen appliances

Unless your appliances are very much out-of-date, you may be able to order new face panels for them. Many appliances come with changeable panels so you may even be able to make all your appliances match.

6. Closets, the basement, the attic, and the pantry

Take all but the clothes you need for this season out of your closets. A half-full closet shows better than one crammed full of clothes. Organize everything in a very orderly fashion in your pantry. Store whatever foods you are not going to use any time soon in your storage unit closed up tightly in plastic totes. Empty the basement and the attic into your storage unit.

Using this handy list, once you get organized you will then be ready to find someone to sell your beautiful spruced up, uncluttered home.

Categories: Real Estate